BYD to sell EVs in Israel
Chinese automaker BYD has announced that it is going to start selling electric cars in Israel by 2009, as well as European markets in the following years. The planned models are the BYD E6 and a Plug-in Hybrid F6DM, which will benefit from Israel's soon-to-be installed electric charging stations network although I don't know what Nissan-Renault/Better Place think about this.
The specs for the cars don't look bad, so let's hope they reach our expectations. The BYD E6 seats 5 and runs from 0-100 km/h in about 10 seconds, and uses BYD's own lithium-ion iron phosphate batteries, stored behind the rear seats. The F6DM hybrid is a mid-sized sedan with a range of 62 miles (100 km) in the all-electric mode and 267 miles (430 km) total.
Gallery: Beijing 2008: BYD e6
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[Source: BYD via Gasgoo]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
meme 6:58PM (8/08/2008)
"which will benefit from Israel's soon-to-be installed electric charging stations network although I don't know what Nissan-Renault/Better Place think about this."
Plaese porrf raed.
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Joce03 8:39PM (8/08/2008)
Its a blog, not the New York Times.
Joce03 8:42PM (8/08/2008)
I must have missed something, but why are automakers bringing EVs to Israel?
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Chris M 9:41PM (8/08/2008)
Because Israel has to import almost all of its oil, and is surrounded by hostile oil producing states. Israel is really eager to stop using petroleum so they can stop sending money to the Arabs. .
Because Israel is a small insular nation with closed borders, and limited range EVs work just fine there.
Because the founder of "Project Better Place" is from Israel, and plans to start installing car charging and battery swap stations there.
Chris M 9:53PM (8/08/2008)
"The specs for the cars don't look bad, so let's hope they reach our expectations."
I'm hoping they can learn about quality control, and manage to achieve a reasonable safety rating. The steady stream of toxic and defective products doesn't make me very optomistic, though.
I suspect Nissan/Renault have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, it means more competition, but it also helps validate the market and will help promote the buildup of charging and battery swap facilities.
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